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Monday, January 5, 2015

The 9 Most Important Victories for Workers in 2014

In These TimesDecember 30th, 2014

The mainstream press often files workers’ stories between corporate
gossip in the “business” or “money” sections. But the efforts of working
people to organize for their common interests—as well as the efforts of
the 1 percent to keep a lid on things—frequently made front-page news
this year.
Much has been made of the incredibly hostile climate for labor over
the past few decades. Yet this past year, workers still organized on
shop floors, went out on strike, marched in the street and shuffled into
courthouses to hold their employers accountable, and campaigned hard
for those who earned (or, often enough, didn’t earn) their vote.
Legislators, meanwhile, tarried on with their anti-worker
“right-to-work” laws, and union busters busted up unions. But if state
legislatures and the U.S. Supreme Court were harsh on workers, the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was refreshingly helpful, passing
down several rulings that made organizing easier and wage-theft harder.